About Plant Bacteria

How Bacteria Affects Plants: Infestation Of A Microscopic Proportion

by Kristina Kaye Maglabe

Bacteria are the oldest form of life. It has been a belief that the primordial soup contained the first bacterium that existed. Bacteria is present everywhere. It can be found on air, land or water. They are also residing in any and all living organism, dead or alive. Bacteria found in an organism, like plant bacteria, can be a double edged sword. It can be beneficial for them or it can be the death of them.

A bacterium is also considered as the be all and end all of the food chain, from being consumed by a larger organism to it, consuming decaying organisms. It can help other organisms to grow. It can help it decay into what seem like nothingness as well. Most of these are saprotrophic, living off of decayed organisms.

They are microscopic in nature. A gram of soil can contain 2.5 to 3.5 billion bacteria. Everywhere we touch, even in our own bodies, a bacterium is present. It is the single most inescapable thing on the planet. One of the most terrifying things on the planet that has been used by terrorist is Anthrax. This is cause by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. A common contaminant, E.coli, lives in water and can affect a mass of people in a very short span of time. Both of these can cause a red alert in any government, big or small.

Tumors have been growing on tomatoes, berries, roses and the like. Plaques can kill plant cells. There are also cyst nematodes that become a parasite to other organisms. Soft rot is commonly caused by a pathogen called Erwina. But among the species or bacteria, only 100 of them can cause a disease. Bacteria are not as guilty of diseases compared to fungi and viruses.

Humans and animals are not the only organisms that can have cancer. Plants can have it too. Streptomycin is an antibiotic that helps stop bacteria from destroying the root, foliage or stem of the plant. Contamination can be a headache for the government especially if the water system is at risk. These pipes go through irrigation and can affect the vegetation. The vegetation is consumed by humans, in turn receiving the bacteria. It is just a disaster waiting to happen.

They are beneficial in many ways. Plant bacteria aids in nutrient production, cell production and others. It is common knowledge that there are good bacteria and bad bacteria. A bacterium has one of the main key roles in nitrogen-fixing. Nitrogen fixation is needed for an organism to biosynthesize DNA, RNA and the like. It is also needed to convert nitrogen into other forms, from nitrogen to ammonia. These bacteria also convert nitrogen as food for other organisms such as plants. Cheese, wine and cream cannot be made without the help of bacteria. They also aid in controlling pests. Most pesticides have enzymes that were produced by bacteria.

Plant bacteria are quite resilient. They can survive against extreme temperatures and toxic conditions. They can be considered as the good, the bad and the ugly. It only depends on what specie you are looking into.